<![CDATA[Leaf rust disease caused by Hemileia vastatrix fungus may become an important issue on highland coffee (Coffea arabica) especially related to the progressive increase in terms of global temperature. A research aimed at evaluating the mineral composition of some rusted coffee leaves from a single clone S 795 was carried out in Andungsari Experimental Station, Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. A single block experiment was situated at 1451 m asl. The intensity of rust spot in the leaves were identified, and estimated to correspond with the score of 5 to 7 out of 10. The difference in the nutrient status between normal and rusted leaves were statistically evaluated by comparing the mean values using unpaired t-test. The leaf analysis shows an optimal range for potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si). Silicon distribution exhibits a high vari- ability with coefficient of variation (CV) around 30%, while K is slightly lower with CV less than 10%. Principal component analysis shows that Ca, Mg and K may have explained the most variation in the original variables as defined by PC1 (54.76%), PC2 (23.22%), and PC3 (14.01%). The rusted leaves are associated with Ca and Si while normal leaves are associated with K. A considerable high of K may explain for the depression of Ca in normal leaves which is, however, associated with an antagonism between these two minerals. The ratio of has a negative correlation with Ca, and may show a potential as an indicator for leaf mineral evaluation in the context of Hemileia vastatrix fungus infected coffee.]]>
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